BIOPHYSICS OF RADON

ABSTRACT

Radon is an odourless, invisible, radioactive gas naturally released from rocks, soils and water. Radon can get into homes and buildings through small cracks or holes and build up in the air. Over time, breathing in high levels of radon can cause lung cancer. Radon-222 is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that accounts for approximately half of the human annual background radiation exposure globally. Chronic exposure to radon and its decay products is estimated to be the second leading cause of lung cancer behind smoking (WHO, 2009; UNSCEAR 2000). Ionizing radiation emitted as a result of much energy from radon and its progeny can induce variety of cytogenetic effects that can be biologically damaging and results in an increased risk of carcinogenesis (The process in which normal cell are transformed into cancer cell). Suggested effects of alpha particle emission from Radon include mutation, chromosome aberrations, generation of reactive oxygen species, modification of cell cycle, up or down regulation of cytokines and the increased production of proteins associated with cellcycle regulation and the transformation of normal cell into cancer cells.